568 CENSUS OF AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 



in proportion to the population, cpiite ten times gi'eater than ours. 

 This immunity from Snake casualties, I shall not attempt to 

 explain, it may be in part owing to the difference in the mode of 

 life of the Australian, exposing him less to contact with the reptiles, 

 or it may be that the Indian species are of more aggressive 

 tendencies, but I would caution any one from being led into the 

 belief that the immunity is owing to the harmless character of the 

 Snakes themselves. 



Fatal effects from Snake bite are rare, but that is because the 

 bites themselves are rare. There is neither evidence nor reason to 

 suppose that the virulence of the poison is less in the JElapidce of 

 Australia than in those of India. 



The venom of some Australian species of the genera Diemenia 

 and Hoplocephaliis, is, when introduced into the human system, as 

 deadly in its effects as that of the Cobra of India or Rattlesnake 

 of America, and I am convinced, notwithstanding the repeated 

 tales of marvellous cures effected, that recovery from the effects of 

 the bite of one of them, is, even under the most prompt and skilful 

 treatment, a very rare occurrence. 





